I’ve always said I wanted to live through history, just not like this... These are strange times, perhaps the strangest I will ever live through. Six weeks ago the most important thing in my life was making sure my Senior Thesis Show went perfectly, now it’s doing everything I can to be useful during a global pandemic. My old life seems kind of silly in perspective, but I miss it fiercely. My parents are both doctors, healthcare workers who specialize in children with genetic diseases. They are helping in any way they can, but COVID could not be further from their specialties. My mother is itching to do more, picking up call and volunteering to make face shields on top of the dozens of Zoom meetings and telemedicine calls she already has a day.
My father also wants to help but his desire to do good is tempered by fear. A man in his sixties and a former smoker of forty years, his fear of contracting the virus is palpable. He has avoided the hospital, and when not ensconced in his office, going over data on endless zoom calls, he cooks. He has always loved to cook, but now his hobby has turned into a way for him to take care of his community. He makes vats of stock and homemade bread and drops it off on porches of family and friends around the city. He delivers meals to those who have lost loved ones, and people who are ill.
I take after my mother, always wanting to be in the thick of things. It is hard to accept that the most helpful thing I can do right now is to stay home. When I do go out to photograph, I need to keep my distance. Even though people have some amazing stories right now, it is not worth risking their health or mine.
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